Omni-directional 6-legged insect robot can save lives, do cartwheels

While you won’t see this robot buzzing from building to building in your city, you may witness it working to help rescue people and save lives. Built by a group of researchers based at Osaka University in Japan, it was inspired by the team’s observations of animals in nature. Borrowing from the body structures of different animals, the group created a robot that is extremely versatile in real world applications.

Developed specifically with search-and-rescue operations in mind, the arachnid looking robot is omni-directional and ignorant of the fact that it has two sides, so that if you flip the robot over, it will simply reverse the position of its legs and keep moving towards its destination. In addition, it has the ability to flatten its legs out via four joints. When the robot is flattened, it has the ability to fit through tight spaces using wheels that can be installed in the bottom of each leg. With the recent earthquakes in Japan, a machine like this could be handy to get supplies and camera equipment into survivors.

The possibilities for the use of the robot are myriad. It could be used to help disarm bombs remotely, allowing humans to keep a safe distance. Positioning cameras in hard to reach places for events or surveillance is another use that comes to mind. The device is smart enough that it can pick up objects using two legs and place them on top of itself for transport. The team has even included touch sensors with some versions of the machine to allow for more precise pickups. In addition, the robot can also climb stairs by using two of its legs to pull itself up to the level of a step. The rest of its appendages work to push the weight of the robot up entirely.

There is no word yet as to when the robot will be completed and ready for sale, but from the looks of the video below it won’t be long.